Hawker Center.

Apparently my office will be moving in a month to the Marina Sands area (maybe Singapore is trying to keep the finance guys close to the casino.)  So yesterday, I decided to take a walk down that way.  I was ready for dinner, so I was happy to find this gigantic hawker center.

A hawker center is like a mall food court.  Small counters with small kitchens behind them, with food prepared quickly after you order them.  I'm shure that some of the shops are chains, but I bet that most of them are tiny independent businesses.

Apparently the one I found is a famous hawker center among Singaporeans. It is an old victorian-era cast-iron market that once sat out on the water.  Luckily it has survived the many land fill projects since then, it even was disassembled for subway construction and rebuilt.

While most hawker centers seem to be eight to a dozen stalls, this one is an octagonal building with eight halls of stalls.  One of the neighboring streets was shut down and push cart vendors were setting up.  It was good I got there before the evening rush so that there were plenty of empty tables and room to walk around.

You can find a wide variety of food groups here.  I think the four main food groups are Chinese, Indian, Malay, and American fast food. In fact, this one has a Wendy's sitting at one end.  I ordered from a Vietnamese stall, and have also seen Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, and Turkish.  Most food would not look out of place in an American Chinese restaurant, but it is not hard to find such delicacies as fried fish heads, and of course the Chinese do not shy from organ meats.  The most shocking thing to me is how popular soup is in a country where you eat outside in the heat.

Eventually I did find my way to the new office building.  The thing is huge.